Best open face reel for the money?

Howdy,
I was wondering what y'all though was the best open face reel for the money was? Thanks!

The Shimano in your price range.

How much are you wanting to spend?

depends on how much you spend. the old addage you get what you pay for is true with reels too. 20 bucks will get you a 20 dollar reel.

I prefer the Shimano reels. Pick a price range and get the best you can.

I'll agree with the Shimanos. Anything from the cheapest Sienna (I have one) to the Symetre (at a $100, also have one) are great buys. Above that they are pretty awesome but I haven't seen the value in those yet (Saragos,Stradic, Stella, etc...). I am curious to see how many people pick up that Daiwa Caldia that is supposedly a $250 reel for $99 at BPS now.

WITHOUT A DOUBT OKUMA MAKES A 10 BEARING SPINNING REEL THAT CAN BE FOUND BETWEEN 29 AND 35 DOLLARS. DICKS SPORTING GOODS NORMALLY HAS THEM. LIST PRICE IS 79.

Any Shimano!!!!!

I own several Sahara's and one Symetre spincast. Can't say anything bad about them especially for the price. Smooth, smooth, smooth.

I also picked up the Daiwa Caldia. Very, very nice reel!!!

When it comes to spinning reels it’s hard to go wrong with Shimano, or Daiwa. The Symmetry series is an excellent bang for buck line of reels. Cabela’s has a Daiwa manufactured reel called the Prodigy that is extremely excellent in terms of bang for buck.

Above $100 both Shimano, and Daiwa spinning reels are excellent.


TFP

I only have one spinning rig, a shimano sustain fs2500... I mainly use baitcasters, but this spinning reel is the most amazing piece of engineering that I've ever seen.

I have it on a falcon lowrider spooled with 6-lb and use if for finess presentations ranging from drop shotting to wacky rig...

Once (in a bind) I used it for some saltwater fishing while stationed aboard camp pendleton. I spooled it up with braid that was way over what the reel is rated for and caught fish that were similarly over what the reel should be used for. I have caught very large kelp bass (calico)- that almost spooled me before I could start working them in. The reel got soo hot that you couldn't touch it. That was three years ago. Other than routine cleaning and light lube, it's never had any service and still has liquid smooth action.

Between the sustain and my chronarch 100B's, I'm a dedicated shimano person - although I'm somewhat disappointed in some of their new offerings. They are adding more and more plastic to their reels. I suppose that it cuts down on weight and cost, but I just don't think the plastic holds up as well. I have a relatively new 50mg and my wedding band has knocked off most all the paint on the left spool fender.

The older equipment can still be found in the trading section and on eBay - get it while you can IMHO.

Academy h2o xpress mettle reel, everyday price of $50, cannot beat it for the money or any money close.

Shimano has two at the $59 (Sedona, Spirex) that are unmatched. They are a huge upgrade from the Mettle. You should try the difference at Academy.

Brent,

Allow me, if you will, to comment on the above.


The Sustain is an EXCELLENT reel! No doubt about it at all.

In its current incarnation the Sustain is the FE model, which differs from the current model of the Stradic —the FI— in only two non-cosmetic features.

1. The spools of the Sustain FE have titanium lips, the Stradic spools do not have titanium lips

2. 7 S A-RB Ball Bearings, vs. 5 S A-RB Ball Bearings for the Stradic FI.

3. Price, the Sustain FEs are some $90 more than the sister model of the Stradic FI. (The current MSRP for 1000, 2500, and 3000 series reels in these two lines are $249.99 for the Sustain, and $159.99 for the Stradic. The Current MSRP for the 4000, and the 5000 are $269.99 for the Sustain, and $179.99 for the Stradic. The Current MSRP for the 6000, and the 8000 are $299.99 for the Sustain, and $199.99 for the Stradic.)

IMHO, the extra $90 is likely worth it for salt water fishing, but not for freshwater fishing. The main thing that the Sustain FE advantage IMHO is the titanium lipped spools. The two extra bearings of the Sustain FEs don’t really add that much extra performance to that of the Stradic FIs, only marginally greater smoothness in the retrive, and zero improvement in casting, or drag smoothness.

Like I said earlier the main advantage that the Sustain FE offers over the Stradic FI is the titanium spool lip, and I just don’t see that as being a significant advantage for freshwater fishing.


TFP

I was inaccurate in my original post- I actually have the 2500 FD. i'm not sure what difference this makes.

I actually got the reel about 3-4 years ago as part of a prize in a fishing tournament. the only time I've used it for saltwater was when i was in a bind, and it worked very well considering the line and size of fish that I cought with it. how does the FD compare to the models that you mentioned?

A couple of years ago Shimano replaced the FD with the FE. This was a MAJOR upgrade, and was do in conjunction with MAJOR upgrades across nearly the entire Shimano Spinning Reel Lineup. Several new features were added to a large portion of the Shimano spinning reel series. One feature —One-Piece Bail— existed on the Stella series of spinning reels, but no other series of spinning reels. With the new line-up this one-piece bail became standard on all $100 and above spinning reel series. The features of the Sustain FE that I know for a fact to be part of he major up-grade from the Sustain FD are in red below.



* Paladin Gear Durability Enhancement
* Propulsion Line Management System: Propulsion Spool Lip, SR One-Piece Bail Wire, Power Roller III. Redesigned Bail Trip, S-Arm Cam
* Aero Wrap II Oscillation
* SR-Concept: SR 3D Gear, SR One-Piece Bail Wire
* S A-RB (Shielded A-RB) Ball Bearings
* Aluminum Frame
* Graphite Sideplate
* Graphite Rotor
* Aluminum Spool with Titanium Lip
* Spare Aluminum Spool with Titanium Lip
* S-Concept: S Rotor, S Guard, S Arm Cam
* Machined Aluminum Handle
* Direct Drive Mechanism (Thread in Handle Attachment)
* Septon Handle Grips
* WP Drag (Waterproof Drag)
* Maintenance Port
* Fluidrive II
* Floating Shaft
* Dyna-Balance
* Super Stopper II
* Repairable Clicker
* Approved for use in Saltwater
* Rated for use with Mono, Fluorocarbon and PowerPro lines

For more info. go to this linked site.


TFP

Shimano reels are great, but the Prodidgy (Cabelas carries them) are spectacular!

In terms of bang for buck Prodidgy reels are the cat’s PJs. I have one that I love. I’ve only been to Cabela’s once, and the Prodidgys were on sale for $69.99. Normally, at the time Cabela’s had them listed as being $119.99. So the Prodidgeys were 42% off. Nice!


TFP

go with the shimano stratic or sustain. Best reels for the money. As far as the prodigy, that stupid bail keeps on closing during your casts after some use.

Had a buddy who went thru the same journy as you. He decided to buy 2 prodigies instead of 1 stratic. Bail kept on shutting after 2 weeks of usage and he ended up returning the Prodigies back to cabelas and got the stratic. Now he's a happy man..

You might try a quantum xt or xti series reel, I have used the high end and the low end but for the price and reliability the quantum reel seems to be one of the best reels I have ever used

Shimano or Daiwa only. You want the 2500 size spool.

Shimano Symetre or Stradic

I have always used Shimano Stradics but just buy two Pflueger Arbors to try out. These seem good and were a great price, I think $80. Hope they perform because I like the large spools/small body design


(.)(.) for those who didnt catch that...

I've got Stella's, Sustains and Stradics and there's no doubt they're great reels. But bang for the buck, I'd go with an Okuma- one of their high end models.

My current favorite spinning reels are "Line Winder" brand, which is a sister brand of the Okuma factory, sold into China. Their low end is a little spotty (just like most), but their high end is great.

Whatever you choose, make sure you can get parts. That's a big problem with a lot of the private branded reels coming from China for the big box stores- they may be great reels, but they just don't carry spare parts.